The precautionary principle and management of uncertainties in EIAs – analysis of waste incineration cases in Finland

Jalava, Kimmo; Pölönen, Ismo; Hokkanen, Pekka; Kuitunen, Markku

doi:10.1080/14615517.2013.821769

Cited by 12 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…Causal pathways are used in impact assessment and in risk assessment to trace the links between a cause and an effect. Causal pathways allow for complexity and for cumulative effects to be shown and to be examined [ 99 ], for uncertainty to be included at each stage of the assessment [ 100 ] and for community views and values to be included [ 101 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Lessons from an International Initiative to Set and Share Good Practice on Human Health in Environmental Impact Assessment

Cave

Pyper

Fischer-Bonde

et al. 2021

IJERPH

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Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is applied to infrastructure and other large projects. The European Union EIA Directive (2011/92/EU as amended by 2014/52/EU) requires EIAs to consider the effects that a project might have on human health. The International Association for Impact Assessment and the European Public Health Association prepared a reference paper on public health in EIA to enable the health sector to contribute to this international requirement. We present lessons from this joint action. We review literature on policy analysis, impact assessment and Health Impact Assessment (HIA). We use findings from this review and from the consultation on the reference paper to consider how population and human health should be defined; how the health sector can participate in the EIA process; the relationship between EIA and HIA; what counts as evidence; when an effect should be considered ‘likely’ and ‘significant’; how changes in health should be reported; the risks from a business-as-usual coverage of human health in EIA; and finally competencies for conducting an assessment of human health. This article is relevant for health authorities seeking to ensure that infrastructure, and other aspects of development, are not deleterious to, but indeed improve, human health.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Lessons from an International Initiative to Set and Share Good Practice on Human Health in Environmental Impact Assessment

Cave

Pyper

Fischer-Bonde

et al. 2021

IJERPH

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“…More recently there has been a move towards what Owens et al (2004) call post-positivist theories, acknowledging that values are important and not everything can be measured precisely and analysed statistically. Post-positivist ontologies (or theoretical perspectives) argued to have relevance for IA include critical realism (as espoused by Haigh et al (2012) for Health Impact Assessment, HIA), and constructivism (proposed by Sheate (2012) and Jalava et al (2013) for EIA) to reflect the realities of decision makers constructing their own realities based on their perceptions. These post-positivist ontologies call for "more transparent, deliberative, and inclusive processes for informing policy and decisions" (Owens et al, 2004(Owens et al, , p.1944.…”

Section: Ontologymentioning

confidence: 99%

On legitimacy in impact assessment: An epistemologically-based conceptualisation

Bond

Pope

Retief

et al. 2018

Environmental Impact Assessment Review

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Impact assessment (IA) is carried out as an ex ante process to inform decision-making. It includes requirements for engagement with stakeholders (including the public) regarding actions proposed by a proponent. A key issue with the various stakeholders involved is the perceived legitimacy of the IA, which can have implications both for the reputation of the proponent, and the likelihood of conflict over the decision. But the understanding of legitimacy in the IA literature has changed over time in line with an ontological shift from positivism (that scientifically generated information leads to better informed decisions) to the post-positivist acknowledgement of the limitations of scientific method whereby assumptions must be subject to transparency, deliberation and openness. This has led to an epistemological shift towards greater subjectivism which, we suggest, has created new opportunities (which have been realised in political decision-making) to subvert knowledge through the increased use of the Internet and social media. To address the potential for such subversion of legitimacy, we seek to conceptualise legitimacy in the IA context through framing IA around a critical realist ontology and a reliabilist virtue epistemology. This allows us to identify ‘knowledge legitimacy’ as an equally important component of IA legitimacy along with organisational legitimacy. We conceptualise knowledge legitimacy through literature review drawing on rich understandings of knowledge from IA and other fields of research in order to develop a four-dimensional typology. This includes the dimensions of: knowledge accuracy; knowledge restriction; knowledge diffusion; and knowledge spectrum. This is the first theoretically grounded attempt to understand legitimacy in IA. It is hoped that it will provoke discussion in the IA community to further advance theoretical understandings of IA and legitimacy of practice

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“…In Greece and Romania, the amount of waste disposed of in landfills exceeds 80%, and in Spain and Italy, their role remains significant [1][2][3][4][5]. In the countries of northern Europe, instead, incineration prevails, except in Finland and England [6][7][8][9][10][11][12]. Countries with a "cold climate" require large amounts of thermal energy for most of the year and are oriented towards a waste management model that encourages recovery of their energy content.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Selective Collection Quality Index for Municipal Solid Waste Management

et al. 2018

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Trentino (an Italian Province located in the northern part of the country) is equipped with a management system of municipal solid waste collection at the forefront. Among the most positive aspects, there is a great ability for waste separation at the source and a consequent low production of residual municipal solid waste for disposal. Latest data show a gross efficiency of selective collection that has recently reached 80%, one of the highest values in Italy. This study analyzed the "Trentino system" to identify the main elements that have been at the base of the current efficient model. This provided an opportunity to propose a selective collection quality index (SCQI), including collection efficiency for each fraction, method of collection, quality of the collected materials, presence of the punctual tariff and tourist incidence. A period relevant for the transition of the collection system to the recent one was chosen for the demonstrative adoption of the proposed indicators in order to determine the potential of the index adoption. Results of the analysis of this case study were obtained in a quantitative form thanks to the sub-parameters that characterize the proposed index. This allowed selected collection decision makers to focus intently on a territory to find criticalities to be solved. For instance, the use of the index and its sub-indicators in the case of Trentino identified and comparatively quantified the local problems resulting from the presence of a large museum in a small town, tourism peaks in some valleys, and a delay in the punctual tariff adoption. The index has been proposed with the aim to make available an integrated tool to analyze other areas in Italy and abroad.

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The precautionary principle and management of uncertainties in EIAs – analysis of waste incineration cases in Finland

Cited by 12 publications

References 24 publications

Lessons from an International Initiative to Set and Share Good Practice on Human Health in Environmental Impact Assessment

Lessons from an International Initiative to Set and Share Good Practice on Human Health in Environmental Impact Assessment

On legitimacy in impact assessment: An epistemologically-based conceptualisation

Selective Collection Quality Index for Municipal Solid Waste Management

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